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da leao： To celebrate the launch of the game, our next article looks at the six Tottenham returns from hell.
They say you should never go back, and yet there have been countless figures over the years who have returned, unsuccessfully, to White Hart Lane. Tottenham Hotspur are by far the worst offenders in recent history for attempting to wind back hands of time, with the likes of Pascal Chimbonda, Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane, Peter Crouch and Younes Kaboul all rejoining the club under Harry Redknapp. However, whilst the jury is still out on Crouch and Kaboul, let’s take a trip down memory lane, and remember some of the worst comebacks in Tottenham’s illustrious history…
1. Glen Hoddle (1975-1987 and 2001-2003)
Glenn Hoddle, like Danny Blanchflower or Jimmy Greaves , is one of Tottenham Hotspur’s greatest players. However, unfortunately, a great player does not necessarily make a great manager. Despite 490 appearances, 110 goals, two FA Cups, one UEFA Cup and 12 years service for Tottenham as a player, Glenn Hoddle’s return as manager turned out to be a huge disappointment for both Hoddle and the supporters who so badly wanted their hero to succeed.
Hoddle was appointed Spurs manager in March 2001 following the sacking of the ‘man in the raincoat’ George Graham.
Whilst history will regard Hoddle’s tenure as a ‘disaster’, a revisionist approach provides a more balanced appraisal. Whilst Graham is regarded as having been more successful owing to his delivering the League Cup in 1999, just five months after taking charge, Hoddle was just one game away from producing a similar feat, but ultimately fell at the final hurdle as Tottenham lost 2-1 to Blackburn Rovers in the 2002 League Cup final. However, Both Graham and Hoddle spent approximately two years and five months in charge at Tottenham, with Hoddle spending about £36m and Graham £35m. The result was that neither manager could steer Tottenham away from mid-table obscurity.
In the end, Hoddle’s return proved so disappointing because of Tottenham fan’s huge expectations. It would have been only too perfect for Hoddle to return to the club where he was loved so dearly, and roll back the years at White Hart Lane, producing the exciting, winning football Hoddle himself had been a part of in the 1980s. Unfortunately however, Hoddle’s return was just another instance of that wise old saying… you should never go back.
2. Pascal Chimbonda Tottenham, (2006-2008 and 2009)
With the £9m signing of Alan Hutton, Pascal Chimbonda’s days at White Hart Lane were numbered. Good riddance the fans said. In the League Cup final against Chelsea in 2008, the player had sulked off after being substituted, only celebrate wildly at the final whistle, joyfully collecting his winner’s medal. Juande Ramos offloaded the French mercenary to Sunderland in August 2008, and that, Tottenham fans believed, was that. However, with Spurs staring relegation in the face in the 2008/09 season, Harry Houdini bought Chimbonda back to the Lane for one last hurrah in January 2009. Tottenham’s decision to give Sunderland back the £3m they’d paid just six months after letting the Frenchman go backfired however, as he started just one match for the club following his return. Chimbonda left for Blackburn Rovers the following August, with Tottenham taking a reported £500,000 hit. Complete waste of time and money.
3. Peter Shreeve(s) 1984-1986 and 1991-1992)
Is it Shreeve or Shreeves? Either way, much like David Pleat, Peter Shreeve is one of Tottenham’s ‘nearly men’. Shreeve joined Tottenham as a coach in 1974, before being promoted to manager of the reserve team in 1979, and then assistant manager in 1980. However, in 1984, Shreeve was given the uncomfortable job of succeeding the hugely successful and popular Keith Burkinshaw. In the 1984/85 season, Shreeve finished 3rd in the First Division, and Tottenham would have qualified for Europe were there not a ban on English clubs following Heysel. However, the following season, Tottenham finished 10th in the league, and Shreeve was sacked and replaced with David Pleat.
Shreeve was not quite finished at Tottenham yet however, and in 1991-92, Shreeve was appointed Tottenham head coach, with Terry Venables ‘moving upstairs’ to become Chief Executive. However, Shreeve was sacked after just one season in charge, as Tottenham finished 15th in the league, and so became Tottenham’s last manager of the old First Division. Tottenham were going through a transitional stage under Shreeve, with Paul Gascoigne out injured for the season, and only Gary Lineker, who scored 28 goals in 35 league games in 1991/92, Tottenham’s truly world class player. Shreeve was replaced by Ray Clemence and Doug Livermore, and Shreeve’s return in 1991 can only be perceived as a failure
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4. Robbie Keane Tottenham, (2002-2008 and 2009 – present)
Robbie Keane left Tottenham for the team he followed as a boy (not Celtic you fools!) in August 2008, as Liverpool departed with £20m to take the player to Anfield. The deal represented good business for Spurs considering Keane had cost the North Londoners just £7m in August 2002.
Keane netted a respectable 5 goals in 16 starts for Liverpool, but ultimately failed to cement a place in the first team. In fact, it became increasingly obvious that Rafael Benitez had never really wanted ‘Keano’, at the club, and Harry Redknapp was delighted to bring the Irishman back to the Lane for a fee believed to be in the region of £15m. Keane returned to Tottenham as club captain, and his experience and enthusiasm was an important factor in Tottenham maintaining their Premier League status.
However, Keane returned to Tottenham a different player to the one many had remembered. Barely a year after rejoining, the Irishman fell out of favour at White Hart Lane, returning to his other boyhood favourite Celtic on a six month loan in January 2010. Maybe Tottenham’s play had moved on? Maybe Berbatov had made Keane look good? Either way, despite scoring 11 goals in 34 games following his return to North London, Keane was ultimately a failure upon his return. Never go back Robbie….
5. Osvaldo Ardiles (1978-1988 and 1993-1994)
‘Ossie’ Ardiles is the most decorated foreign player Tottenham have ever had at White Hart Lane, winning the FA Cup twice and the UEFA Cup once during his ten year stay with the club, as well as making some 311 appearances and scoring 25 goals. In short, Ardiles is one of Tottenham’s finest ever players, and so when Ardiles returned to White Hart Lane as manager in 1993, the club was brimming with nostalgia and excitement.
As a manager, Ardiles had achieved promotions with both Swindon Town and West Bromwich Albion. However, perhaps his disastrous spell at Newcastle United, where he was sacked after just 12 months into the job with the Toon languishing at the foot of the table, was an indicator of what was to come at Spurs.
In Ardiles’ first season in charge, Tottenham finished 15th in the league and just three points above the relegation zone, as injuries to Teddy Sheringham, Darren Anderton (Quelle surprise) and Gary Mabburt took their toll. In 1994/95, despite Alan Sugar bringing in the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann, Ilie Dumitrescu and Gheorghe Popescu at great expense, Tottenham were hovering precariously above the relegation zone once again. Ardiles was criticized for playing a ‘famous five’ in attack (Darren Anderton right, Nick Barmby behind the front two, Ilie Dumistrescu on the left and Teddy Sheringham and Jurgen Klinsmann up front), and was seen as tactically naive. In October 1994, after an embarrassing defeat by Notts County in the League Cup, Ardiles was sacked, with Gerry Francis appointed to steady the ship.
Ardiles remains a legend at White Hart Lane after his efforts as a player, but unfortunately, his turn as a manager was another disappointment.
6. David Pleat (1986-1987 and 1998-2004)
David Pleat’s one and only stint as a manager at Tottenham came in the 1986/87 season. That season, Tottenham finished 3rd in the First Division, runners-up in the FA Cup, and semi-finalists in the League Cup. Clive Allen, Tottenham’s lone front man, scored 49 goals in one season, and Tottenham scored more than four on nine occasions. Pleat delivered some of the most exciting football Tottenham supporters had seen at White Hart Lane since the 1960s.
Unfortunately, Pleat was hounded out of Tottenham by the media after allegations surrounding his private life were splashed across tabloid front pages in 1987. However, Pleat’s association with Tottenham was not over yet, and in 1998, he returned to Tottenham as ‘Director of Football’. Before a certain Damien Comolli forever cast a cloud over the title, Pleat held the position at White Hart Lane from 1998-2004.
The extent to which Pleat was responsible for player recruitment, scouting and the youth team is debatable, but during his stint as Director of Football, Tottenham’s highest League position was ninth, and the club went through managers like a hot knife through low fat butter.
Pleat finally left the club in 2004, ending the season as caretaker boss following Hoddle’s dismissal in September 2003. Whilst one man can never be solely responsible for a club’s failure, Pleat outlasted the likes of Graham and Hoddle, and yet escaped the ridicule and blame that befell the two managers. Ultimately, Pleat failed to take Tottenham forward during his second spell ‘upstairs’, and his return can only be judged as a failure.
So, there you have it, six of the worst Tottenham returns in recent history, well in my opinion.
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Compiled By Mark Turner